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Players to Avoid on DRAFT: Week 14

Players to Avoid on DRAFT: Week 14

Only a few more weeks of robust player pools in the DRAFT app. If you’ve been bounced out of postseason action in your season-long league(s), I urge you to try the DRAFT app. It’s fun, easy, and fast!

Every week you get to build a five-man roster and go up against other users in head-to-head or multi-player leagues. As most of the larger bracket tournaments from earlier this year wind down, there’s plenty of time to jump in and try it out.

We’ll go through some players you should avoid with your five picks, guys who could end up being lineup landmines for you. Let’s go!

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Quarterback

Cam Newton (CAR): vs. MIN
Newton has a history of not performing when he’s losing. He rides momentum and produces when confident. This game is setting up to be a spot where Newton is pressured early, often and he never gets going, resulting in a lousy game.

Cerebral talk aside, Minnesota is at least a top-10 unit against the pass in any metric you choose to use. Stay away.

Kirk Cousins (WAS):@ LAC
The last time Cousins appeared here, his O-line was beat up badly. That unit is still in bad shape, and he gets a brutal matchup against the Chargers. In the last month, opposing QBs have only mustered three total passing scores and just over 56% completion rate in that span against L.A. and his targets may struggle to get open.

Running Back

Jordan Howard (CHI): @ CIN
The Bengals may be without several key defenders, but the Bears are still the most conservative offense around. The lack of deep passing and passing in general (just 15 pass attempts last week) makes defenses know what’s coming on early downs. Factor in the return of Benny Cunningham and he’s left with zero work on third downs.

Kareem Hunt (KC): vs. OAK
Ever since Navarro Bowman arrived, Oakland’s run defense has been much improved. LeSean McCoy is the only RB to go over 100 yards against them this season, and since that Week 8 performance, Kenyan Drake is the only RB to surpass 60 yards.

In the last three games, no RB has gone over 32 yards against the Raiders. Andy Reid surrendered play-calling duties last week, but the Chiefs still refused to get Hunt the ball enough to make him fantasy relevant which is puzzling considering he’s shown that he gets stronger later in games.

Christian McCaffrey/Jonathan Stewart (CAR): vs. MIN
McCaffery is only a solid play if he gets considerable pass game work. He certainly won’t be used much as a runner. Even if he sees a respectable workload as a ball carrier, the Vikings have limited explosive run plays all year.

The longest run any RB has had against them all year is 29 yards. They allow just over 12 fantasy points per game to opposing rushers and just under 78 yards per game total.

As good as the pass D may be, the run D is just as good or better. Most of you aren’t planning on drafting Stewart, but just in case the goalline work and TDs have intrigued you and you got the idea, look elsewhere.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Mike Evans (TB): vs. DET
The Bucs passing attack is in a funk right now. Darius Slay shadow coverage this week will limit Evans once again this week. So far through the season, he’s been incredibly disappointing if you’ve invested a pick every week in him on DRAFT. Evans has been outproduced by Kenny Stills this season. I’m staying away.

Doug Baldwin (SEA): vs. JAX
Jacksonville’s defense in the best in the league and it’s not close. Going beyond perimeter WRs, they’re allowing just 47% completion rate against all pass targets. Russell Wilson is playing like an MVP, but this matchup is too tough to invest picks in his targets playing at Jacksonville…Jimmy Graham, maybe…but not Baldwin.

Devin Funchess (CAR): vs. MIN
Funch has averaged five-for-87 and a score in his last three games. However, I expect him to be shut down in what could be a low-scoring game.

The Vikings have had a lot of those this year, and they’re elite at limiting opposing WRs and getting off the field on third downs. He’ll draw Xavier Rhodes shadow coverage too. Rhodes closed!

Kyle Rudolph (MIN): @ CAR
Rudolph is easy to predict; and when he scores, he finishes as a top-eight TE. When he fails to get into the box, he’s also failed to finish above the top-20 just once, as TE 14 in Week 11.

The Panthers D is a top-three unit against the TE, and average under six fantasy points allowed to the position. As I mentioned above, this game could be low scoring.

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Josh Dalley is a correspondent at FantasyPros. His username on DRAFT is DFSDad. For more from Josh, follow him @JoshDalley72.

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